7 ms·

Introducing the Coinbase Tip Button

89 points by ntomaino 12y ago

drydot 12y ago
press my brand new coinbase tip button at http://mm-studios.com http://mm-studios.com ; )
- ntomaino 12y ago
  nice!
grimtrigger 12y ago
This is excellent. Any chance we'll see an API? It would be cool to be able to use it as a micropay button on top of a microdonation button. Also a nitpick, the implication that things like this > aren’t possible with traditional payment networks is obviously untrue. Flattr had the same functionality without bitcoin.
- ntomaino 12y ago
  Thanks for the feedback! Yes an API is definitely on the roadmap. The difference with bitcoin enabled micropayments and every other attempt at micropayments in the history of the internet is that Bitcoin is an open, interoperable network. Flattr, Beenz, Flooz, TipJoy, and others that have come before have been closed loop networks where there was significant friction and fees associated with getting onto and off of the network. When on the network, these has also only been one behavior possible-- tipping. Bitcoin is an open, interoperable network where any amount of money can be sent frictionlessly anywhere on the internet. Perfect for micropayments, we think!
  - hobo_mark 12y ago
    I've not used coinbase yet so forgive the question, from what I remember the smallest bitcoin transaction fee is 5430 satoshis, or about 2 USD cents today. That's 20% of a 10c tip, who "pays" it? (the tipper, coinbase, or the recipient?)
    - ISL 12y ago
      Trades internal to Coinbase don't have to happen on the blockchain. Source: http://blog.coinbase.com/post/57483182558/you-can-now-send-micro-transactions-with-zero-fees http://blog.coinbase.com/post/57483182558/you-can-now-send-m... If decentralized microtransactions could be done at sufficiently-negligible (sub $0.01? ) cost, I think it could have a major impact on the web. Nobody's yet figured out how to make it effortless, though. This implementation from Coinbase doesn't appear to be different from Flattr, which hasn't yet taken off. Edit: With further thought, Coinbase may have more users than Flattr, and they already have real money in their accounts. Those differences alone could be significant.
      - hobo_mark 12y ago
        So if I understand correctly, coinbase creates a private internal "wallet" for you, "hidden" from the public ledger, and owns the private key to it? Thank you, it's funny how GP talks about an "open, interoperable network" then...
        ISL 12y ago
        Yes. As I understand things, Coinbase provides at least two major services. They're a major US USD<-->BTC exchange, and they also host wallets. Those things are separable, as you can make a USD->BTC exchange, then transfer to another wallet for safekeeping, or do the reverse to get back to more-traditional currency.
        tubbzor 12y ago
        For what its worth, this is only for convenience purposes for those who want to use Bitcoin without having to handle managing their own keys (ie. grandma and grandpa) or want to avoid transaction time/costs that come with operating on the blockchain. Coinbase offers multi-sig support which puts control back into the user's hands in the event Coinbase went down or was compromised. Coinbase is a great service for acquiring coin but I generally move it out to my preferred wallet after I purchase it.
      - hckr1292 12y ago
ISL 12y ago
What does the Coinbase service offer over something like a browser plugin that enables one-click dispensation of tips from a small wallet to a bitcoin address on a site? A lot of Americans use Coinbase, but not everyone has a Coinbase account....
- softdev12 12y ago
  I'm guessing it's primary benefit is for existing Coinbase users - offering them the extension of their accounts.
lvh 12y ago
I had the pleasure of being one of the pilot test cases with Crypto 101: https://www.crypto101.io/ https://www.crypto101.io/ https://crypto101.github.io/ https://crypto101.github.io/ Much easier for folks who happen to already have a Coinbase account! Same functionality for everyone else (cards, straight LTC/BTC).
joeblau 12y ago
This is great! I was using the donate button on www.gitignore.io but this is what I was actually looking for when I implemented the donate button. Thanks for launching this.
- ntomaino 12y ago
  good stuff joe! looking forward to seeing the tip button on your site :)
  - joeblau 12y ago
    It's up! https://www.gitignore.io/docs https://www.gitignore.io/docs
wildchild 12y ago
Very nice. I hope GitHub will integrate it.
- disposition2 12y ago
  ChangeTip [1], which I've seen on reddit for some time, does this already (among other social services). 1. https://www.changetip.com/ https://www.changetip.com/
JohnTHaller 12y ago
The negative to this is similar to the negative of Flattr, you're giving a prominent position to a button/brand other than your own for less than the value of that space. On Adam Corolla's site, he's got it in the top banner, a very prominent position. It's only gotten him $3.30* in exchange, a very cheap ad buy. It will be interesting to see how these perform after a week and a month vs just placing a small ad there. Especially after the $2,000 they gave away to spur usage is used up. I'd wager these will only bring in a small fraction of what an ad would. One positive over Flattr, though, is at least you can see how much that ad position is paying out as a visitor. 1 Flattr doesn't have a direct connection to dollars. * - I'd originally forgotten the default tip is 10 cents, not $1. Updated with the 1/10th value appropriately.
- hckr1292 12y ago
  This is really good point -- these buttons really ARE advertisements. Personally, I've had a hard time figuring out how to get any ads on my personal blog. The costs of hosting are very low (about $75 including AWS, a cheap SSL cert, and DNS). It should be easy to break even However, because my blog has so few impressions and is hosted on a subdomain (bryce.fisher-fleig.org) I can't use Google Adsense. Flattr or Coinbase could be great for hard-monetize situations.
  - JohnTHaller 12y ago
    Note that I was off by a factor of ten and the site has made under 4 bucks for a sitewide banner ad.
  - silviogutierrez 12y ago
    Does AdSense really not allow ads on subdomains?
- jbigelow76 12y ago
  Do ad blockers typically remove things like Flattr or potentially this Coinbase tip button? You're right about this being a cheap ad by but if there is a high correlation between bitcoin and the use of ad blockers and these tip buttons aren't blocked this could be an acceptable alternative.
andrewwomack 12y ago
We're one of the launch partners (themorningnews.org), and we're excited to be a part of this. Super-easy to implement. Thanks!

89 points by ntomaino 12y ago

drydot 12y ago

press my brand new coinbase tip button at http://mm-studios.com http://mm-studios.com ; )

ntomaino 12y ago
nice!

grimtrigger 12y ago

This is excellent. Any chance we'll see an API? It would be cool to be able to use it as a micropay button on top of a microdonation button. Also a nitpick, the implication that things like this > aren’t possible with traditional payment networks is obviously untrue. Flattr had the same functionality without bitcoin.

ntomaino 12y ago
Thanks for the feedback! Yes an API is definitely on the roadmap. The difference with bitcoin enabled micropayments and every other attempt at micropayments in the history of the internet is that Bitcoin is an open, interoperable network. Flattr, Beenz, Flooz, TipJoy, and others that have come before have been closed loop networks where there was significant friction and fees associated with getting onto and off of the network. When on the network, these has also only been one behavior possible-- tipping. Bitcoin is an open, interoperable network where any amount of money can be sent frictionlessly anywhere on the internet. Perfect for micropayments, we think!
- hobo_mark 12y ago
  I've not used coinbase yet so forgive the question, from what I remember the smallest bitcoin transaction fee is 5430 satoshis, or about 2 USD cents today. That's 20% of a 10c tip, who "pays" it? (the tipper, coinbase, or the recipient?)
  - ISL 12y ago
    Trades internal to Coinbase don't have to happen on the blockchain. Source: http://blog.coinbase.com/post/57483182558/you-can-now-send-micro-transactions-with-zero-fees http://blog.coinbase.com/post/57483182558/you-can-now-send-m... If decentralized microtransactions could be done at sufficiently-negligible (sub $0.01? ) cost, I think it could have a major impact on the web. Nobody's yet figured out how to make it effortless, though. This implementation from Coinbase doesn't appear to be different from Flattr, which hasn't yet taken off. Edit: With further thought, Coinbase may have more users than Flattr, and they already have real money in their accounts. Those differences alone could be significant.
    - hobo_mark 12y ago
      So if I understand correctly, coinbase creates a private internal "wallet" for you, "hidden" from the public ledger, and owns the private key to it? Thank you, it's funny how GP talks about an "open, interoperable network" then...
      - ISL 12y ago
        Yes. As I understand things, Coinbase provides at least two major services. They're a major US USD<-->BTC exchange, and they also host wallets. Those things are separable, as you can make a USD->BTC exchange, then transfer to another wallet for safekeeping, or do the reverse to get back to more-traditional currency.
      - tubbzor 12y ago
        For what its worth, this is only for convenience purposes for those who want to use Bitcoin without having to handle managing their own keys (ie. grandma and grandpa) or want to avoid transaction time/costs that come with operating on the blockchain. Coinbase offers multi-sig support which puts control back into the user's hands in the event Coinbase went down or was compromised. Coinbase is a great service for acquiring coin but I generally move it out to my preferred wallet after I purchase it.
    - hckr1292 12y ago

ISL 12y ago

What does the Coinbase service offer over something like a browser plugin that enables one-click dispensation of tips from a small wallet to a bitcoin address on a site? A lot of Americans use Coinbase, but not everyone has a Coinbase account....

softdev12 12y ago
I'm guessing it's primary benefit is for existing Coinbase users - offering them the extension of their accounts.

lvh 12y ago

I had the pleasure of being one of the pilot test cases with Crypto 101: https://www.crypto101.io/ https://www.crypto101.io/ https://crypto101.github.io/ https://crypto101.github.io/ Much easier for folks who happen to already have a Coinbase account! Same functionality for everyone else (cards, straight LTC/BTC).

joeblau 12y ago

This is great! I was using the donate button on www.gitignore.io but this is what I was actually looking for when I implemented the donate button. Thanks for launching this.

ntomaino 12y ago
good stuff joe! looking forward to seeing the tip button on your site :)
- joeblau 12y ago
  It's up! https://www.gitignore.io/docs https://www.gitignore.io/docs

wildchild 12y ago

Very nice. I hope GitHub will integrate it.

disposition2 12y ago
ChangeTip [1], which I've seen on reddit for some time, does this already (among other social services). 1. https://www.changetip.com/ https://www.changetip.com/

JohnTHaller 12y ago

The negative to this is similar to the negative of Flattr, you're giving a prominent position to a button/brand other than your own for less than the value of that space. On Adam Corolla's site, he's got it in the top banner, a very prominent position. It's only gotten him $3.30* in exchange, a very cheap ad buy. It will be interesting to see how these perform after a week and a month vs just placing a small ad there. Especially after the $2,000 they gave away to spur usage is used up. I'd wager these will only bring in a small fraction of what an ad would. One positive over Flattr, though, is at least you can see how much that ad position is paying out as a visitor. 1 Flattr doesn't have a direct connection to dollars. * - I'd originally forgotten the default tip is 10 cents, not $1. Updated with the 1/10th value appropriately.

hckr1292 12y ago
This is really good point -- these buttons really ARE advertisements. Personally, I've had a hard time figuring out how to get any ads on my personal blog. The costs of hosting are very low (about $75 including AWS, a cheap SSL cert, and DNS). It should be easy to break even However, because my blog has so few impressions and is hosted on a subdomain (bryce.fisher-fleig.org) I can't use Google Adsense. Flattr or Coinbase could be great for hard-monetize situations.
- JohnTHaller 12y ago
  Note that I was off by a factor of ten and the site has made under 4 bucks for a sitewide banner ad.
- silviogutierrez 12y ago
  Does AdSense really not allow ads on subdomains?
jbigelow76 12y ago
Do ad blockers typically remove things like Flattr or potentially this Coinbase tip button? You're right about this being a cheap ad by but if there is a high correlation between bitcoin and the use of ad blockers and these tip buttons aren't blocked this could be an acceptable alternative.

andrewwomack 12y ago

We're one of the launch partners (themorningnews.org), and we're excited to be a part of this. Super-easy to implement. Thanks!